College Students and Eating Disorders

Each year eating disorders continue to be on the rise among college students. When entering college, people experience many different feelings and emotions. Some may feel excited about finally being able to start studying towards the career of their choice and feel hopeful about their future. They may be looking forward to their freedom and a chance to experience independence. They may be excited about having a chance to meet people and develop new friendships. Others may not experience those same feelings and may not be ready to enter into such an environment. The thought of being on their own and having to be independent can be very frightening. They may feel uncertain about their future and fear becoming an adult and taking on the extra responsibilities. Having to meet people and develop new friendships can also be frightening. They may fear they will not be accepted or fit in. Some may not even want to be in college. They may have been pressured into going there by their parents. All though college can be a wonderful experience for people, for some, it can be one of the worst.

It takes time for people to adjust to college life. They leave behind the things that are most familiar to them. Their families, friends, home, their own room and many other things that may have helped them to feel secure. All of a sudden they enter into a world full of new responsibilities, new people and it can be a very frightening, confusing and lonely time. Many start to feel all the pressures from the minute they arrive. They have a full course load, many late night study sessions, and the stress of assignments that are due, in addition to exams. Some may also have to hold down part time jobs to make ends meet. They may not be used to the added responsibilities of being independent like having to do their own laundry, go shopping and cook for themselves. On top of all that, they may also worry about being accepted by their peers. All this together can be very stressful and we are seeing many college students turning to eating disorders as a way to cope.

When the pressures get to be too much, some may turn to anorexia as a way to block out what is happening. If they spend all their time focusing on calories and their weight, they don't have time to think about anything else. Others might believe that the only way they will be accepted, is if they are thin. If someone is having trouble in their courses and not getting the marks they wanted or expected to, they might also develop anorexia. As the scale goes down they start to believe that losing weight is the one thing they can succeed at and it makes them feel like they are accomplishing something. Others may turn to bulimia or compulsive eating as a way to deal with the pressures and all the emotions that they are experiencing. If they are feeling lonely, sad, tired, overwhelmed, depressed, scared, or confused, food can bring them a false sense of security and can also comfort them. When they binge, all the negative feelings they are experiencing disappear. When the bulimics purge, whether that be by vomiting or compulsively exercising, it may help them to feel like they are releasing all those feelings. Since food can only temporarily help deal with the negative feelings, the binge/purge cycle will continue.

Date rape on campus is also on the rise. Many people that develop an eating disorder are victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault. If they are too afraid to report the rape or feel too ashamed to admit what has happened, they may develop an eating disorder as a way to cope with the assault. It is very difficult for someone to come forward and report a rape that has happened on campus. They fear that they will not be believed or they will be made to feel responsible for the assault. Some colleges are now encouraging people to come forward and taking action against the people that commit the crime, but some still prefer to keep it quiet and will discourage the victim from pressing charges and talking about the assault. I do feel it is the responsibility of the colleges to make the campus a safe place for all their students. Many colleges now have students that volunteer to walk other students to their cars or dorms when they have late night classes. Others hire security guards to patrol the grounds. If any of these services are available to you, I would urge everyone to use them. If you don't have any of these services available to you, you may want to pass around petitions trying to get services like this at your college. Until they are available to you, it is best that you try to stick in groups. Never walk alone at night, especially in areas that are isolated.

Many people are not even aware that they have an eating disorder because eating disorder behaviors can be very accepted on college campuses. On some college campuses we are starting to hear about groups of people taking part in what is called a "binge/purge" party. They gather together to talk, laugh and eat. They usually eat much of what they consider to be the "forbidden" foods and then they take turns using the bathroom to purge. It may sound hard to believe, but these kinds of things do happen. We even hear about people sharing diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics. It would be very difficult to realize you have a problem when so many people around you are doing the same thing. It is important that people do know that this is abnormal behavior, it can be very dangerous and they do need help.

For those that do realize they have an eating disorder, it can be very difficult for them to seek help. Many people with eating disorders tend to feel like they are crazy and that they are only person who does the things they do. They avoid telling someone for fear that they will be thrown out of college or placed in a mental institution. Health and counseling services at all colleges need to make students aware that they can go to these places for help. They should provide the students with information to help educate them. They should also provide psychological, medical, and nutritional counseling. Many colleges do provide some of these services, but there are still many that need to start, especially for the students that are from out of town and don't have families to turn to for help. It would also be helpful for colleges to provide stress management classes for their students. Since there are such a high number of college students suffering with eating disorders, it would be helpful for the students to have a support group to attend. Being with others that know and understand how they feel can help to show them that they are not alone. The more services that colleges provide for students suffering with eating disorders, the better their chances are for recovery and to learn to adjust and deal with all the pressures that go along with college life.